


A Night Off

by reluctantOracle



Category: The Magnus Archives (Podcast)
Genre: Asexual Character, Gen, Trans Character
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-03
Updated: 2020-06-03
Packaged: 2021-03-04 03:40:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,351
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24527029
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/reluctantOracle/pseuds/reluctantOracle
Summary: Jon takes Daisy up on the offer for drinks after work, and they both end up finding out more about each other than they realised
Comments: 3
Kudos: 61





	A Night Off

**Author's Note:**

> This came from a very specific headcanon I have that Jon has his left ear pierced. I have zero basis for this headcanon, but I know in my heart it is true. Also they're both trans and ace. Pre season 4, obviously. Honestly just wanted these two to just have one lil break, for once in their damn lives, PLEASE

Despite facing monsters and evils beyond human comprehension, enduring weeks of sleeplessness and terror and Lord knows what else, the thing Jon found himself most uncomfortable with was the staring. He’d done his best to cover the small, circular scars which peppered his neck and right jawline- Georgie had taught him a few tricks with some concealer- but he couldn’t help but feel the prickle of eyes that followed him whenever he attempted to navigate mundane society. It had gotten worse after the coma, of course. Now instead of a vaguely anxious hunch, he could feel their eyes on him, knew the theories that buzzed from their heads into his. The old woman sitting at the end of the bar was subtly scanning his pockets for a sign of a packet of cigarettes, looking for evidence of self-infliction. He sighed and put his burnt hand in his pocket. No reason to give her more to gossip to Rebecca about. Her daughter would visit later tonight and chide her for drinking, which she really shouldn’t be doing with the state of her heart. Although of course that wouldn’t stop her from rolling her eyes and pulling out a bottle of Pinot Noir, picked up from the corner shop fifteen minutes down the road from-

Daisy cleared her throat and he started, pulling himself away from the mind of a stranger. She had an eyebrow raised, jaw set hard with suspicion. He tried to look as apologetic as possible without bringing attention to himself. They made an odd pair, sitting together in a booth in the darkest corner of the darkest bar they could find. Daisy had noticed that Jon’s hair was getting long, falling almost to his shoulders in dark curls carved out with various shades of grey. His shirt looked like it had been slept in for the past few days, dark spots of stained ink (at least she hoped it was ink) almost the same shade as the circles which pressed themselves under his eyes. She, on the other hand, had managed to pluck up the courage to leave the Institute long enough to buy herself an entirely new outfit. She hadn’t especially needed one, but she shuddered when she remembered that her favourite jacket now couldn’t seem to shake the smell of ancient, crumbling dirt. So she’d ditched it in favour of a dark faux leather, heavy around her shoulders. It smelled of plastic. Artificial. And it wouldn’t decompose. 

Jon swirled his wine, the glass twisting between his fingers, and he bit his lip. ‘So.’ He said, a little awkward now they were both here without the safety net of imminent danger to throw them together. ‘Any news? I’ve been doing a bit of digging into where we should be heading next, and-’  
‘I don’t want to talk about Archive stuff tonight, Jon.’ She told him. Her voice was quiet, as it usually was when she wasn’t shouting, but firm. ‘That’s the reason I invited you out, remember?’  
He opened his mouth to protest, then just sat back guiltily. Of course that was what he has been about to talk about. She wasn’t stupid. ‘Fine, fine, of course. What do you want to talk about?’  
‘Dunno really.’ She slid her jacket off her shoulders and laid it beside her carefully. Her time trapped in darkness had left her already pale complexion almost translucent, but if she noticed she was pretending not to care. ‘Just figured you needed to get out for a night, you look like shit.’  
That cracked a small smile from him. ‘Thanks. Figured spending three days buried alive might have at least done something for my complexion.’  
She snorted, ‘speak for yourself. I’ve never been better.’ 

They both laughed, a sound which quickly faded as self-deprecation failed to cure the shuddering truth they both shared. The coffin had been horrible. 

‘Not drinking?’ he said, changing the subject, nodding to the glass of Coke she had in front of her. She shrugged, stirring it with her straw. ‘Trying to cut back. It tended to make me, well, angry. Thought it best to steer clear.’  
He nodded, a little impressed. Although Daisy didn’t get drunk often, she often spent her free time in places just like this one. Her desire- no, her need- for change must be serious. He briefly wondered if his own connection to the Eye might be affected by alcohol intake, for better or worse, or even if the consumption from others might make it easier for him to see them. Reduce their inhibitions and make them more susceptible to his… Influences. 

Another glance from Daisy brought him back to Earth sheepishly.  
‘Sorry.’ He said. ‘Gets a little hard to turn it off, sometimes. The thinking.’  
‘Then stop thinking. Tell me something instead.’  
Jon scoffed, but her serious expression didn’t change. ‘Well, I don’t know. Tell you what?’  
‘Something boring and normal.’ Her eyes narrowed for a moment, head tilted slightly as she studied him. 

‘Tell me about the earring.’ 

He blinked in surprise, hand instinctively raising to his left ear. He hadn’t realised anyone else paid much attention, but a small silver hoop sat there, glinting softly against his dark skin. ‘My earring?’  
‘Yeah.’ She said. Sitting back expectantly, she took a long sip out of her glass. ‘It’s something everyday, isn’t it? People get earrings all the time. You don’t strike me as the piercing type though, so spill it. What’s the story?’ 

‘Well, I…’ he hesitated, suddenly feeling hot under his collar. His hand still hovered near his ear, so he tucked a strand of hair behind it and laughed. ‘I suppose it was a stupid college thing. We were all getting them- I hadn’t met Georgie then, mind you, that was a while after. I’d always wanted it done, and we told ourselves- me and some friends, that is- that if something important happened, we would each get it done. A sort of pact, if you like. To show each other that we’d achieved something.’ He smiled and shook his head, ‘seems rather foolish now, I suppose. I did mine in a halls bathroom, with a sewing needle and a frozen sausage. Terrible idea, I can assure you. But it has grown on me.’ 

Daisy put her elbows on the table, leaning forward. ‘That’s pretty disgusting.’ she said, but her eyes were bright. ‘What was so important that you pierced your ear with a manky needle as a prize?’ 

Jon wished his throat didn’t still catch when he went to tell someone. ‘Well, I, uh. It was my top surgery date, actually. Seemed like an occasion worth memorialising. I got the all clear to go home and there they all were, waiting for me to fulfil my end of the deal.’

He took another gulp of wine, his mouth suddenly very dry. For a moment Daisy was silent, body taut, and he was struck with a panic that he has misjudged her entirely and she was just going to get up and leave. Then her whole being seemed to visibly relax, and she shrugged as though nonchalant. ‘That makes sense. I felt the same after I got my first pill prescription.’  
She pulled down the neck of her shirt to reveal a small Venus symbol tattoo. ‘Cliché, I know,’ she said, almost chuckling to herself, ‘but it was a good idea at the time.’  
The breath that left him was probably more audible than he had planned it to be. ‘It’s perfect.’ He said, feeling his face spread into the first genuine smile he’d felt on himself in years. Pulling up his right sleeve revealed a curling flower pattern which bloomed across his bicep. ‘This was a one-year anniversary gift for myself. Hyacinths and green carnations- I suppose I thought I was being original.’ 

The brief flicker of confusion Daisy felt must have registered on her face, because he smiled. ‘They’re both gay symbols. Before I met Georgie, and had some realisations about myself, I just assumed that was that and there wasn’t much more to it. It was a lot simpler.’  
Daisy nodded, not wishing to press but still curious, ‘I think I remember being told something like that. About how you don’t- uh,’  
‘No, I don’t.’ he took another drink. ‘Not for lack of trying, but it isn’t really something I find myself inclined to get involved in.’ 

Jon really didn’t want to pry, but as the silence stretched between them the knowledge pushed itself into his head before he could even try to resist it. ‘You’re asexual.’ He said, eyes wide. ‘Like me.’ 

She scowled, drawing back instantly. ‘I wish you wouldn’t do that.’ she snapped. ‘It’s an invasion of privacy. But, well, yes. Never seemed interesting to me, really.’  
‘Shit, Daisy, I’m sorry. But me too! I mean, none of it does. Until Georgie, I’d never really thought about any of it at all.’ The guilt made way for excitement, and he felt his shoulders drop from the position he hadn’t realised he’d been holding them in. 

‘Hm.’ She studied him for a moment again. ‘I’ve had girlfriends for about as long as I can remember. I just never felt the need to take it further, for lack of a better term. A couple of them tried to make me try, but it never felt right. Kind of makes my skin crawl, thinking about it.’  
‘I know how you feel. A lot of my life has been spent feeling like I have to prove something, like no one can ever be sure of my feelings for them because I won’t- I can’t…’  
‘Exactly. Like your emotions are on trial just because you don’t put out.’

Time passed without them really noticing, their glasses long since empty and forgotten as the bar gradually dwindled, customers wobbling out into the cool night air. Jon was glad to be rid of them, the incessant murmur in his head had been a little distracting. Daisy was more animated than he’d ever seen her, gesticulating as she recounted various experiences. He didn’t think he knew this much about anyone else in the world. And he really did try not to pry. If she did repeat a story he’d already seen in his mind, he was polite enough not to mention it. 

‘Okay, so what did you call it again?’ she asked.  
‘Grey-aromantic. I can feel romantic attraction, but it’s really very rare. Again, it’s pretty much been only Georgie before. I tried the whole dating thing, but it isn’t really me. Honestly I say it’s a whole lot easier without it. Only ever led to awkward conversations.’  
Daisy nodded. ‘That’s true. Always a bit of a gamble trying to figure out when the best time is for that talk.’  
The syncronicity of their eye rolls drew a laugh out of them, warm and real. 

‘Does anyone at the Institute know?’ he asked. She shrugged again, and he realised it was probably her go-to movement for just about every response she could give. ‘Basira, obviously. No one else really bothers to ask. We aren’t exactly known for our breakroom gossip.’ She paused before shooting him a look, ‘although I’m sure Elias is very aware of all our circumstances. Freak.’  
Jon nodded thoughtfully. He’d never really considered that Elias would use his abilities to explore their personal lives, but it made sense. Horrible sense.  
‘What about you?’  
Jon bit his lip. ‘Tim and Sasha did. They were… together, but not romantically. The idea of romance disgusted them both, I think, but they had something going on. We all kind of realised and then figured out we understood each other. This was before everything, of course. I don’t think Tim and I understood much of anything about the other by the end.’ 

He fell into silence, face softening into something small and sad. 

‘I’m sorry.’ Daisy said. ‘I didn’t mean to make you remember that.’  
‘It’s okay.’ He told her, ‘I’d rather remember them like that. What I can remember, of course.’  
‘I didn’t realise there were so many people like us out there.’ She said. ‘I know it’s not exactly the same, but you at least. I didn’t know there were really other people in real life to get it.’ 

The smile found its way back to Jon’s face. He remembered feeling the same when Tim and Sasha had casually thrown around ‘queerplatonic’ to describe their relationship. A surprised, almost awestruck feeling of being known after so long spent in cold isolation.  
His eyes flickered up to the clock on the wall and his eyebrows raised, cast suddenly back into the present. ‘Shit, Daisy, we’ve been here for hours. We actually managed to not talk about work for an entire evening.’  
‘Glad I could be of service,’ she replied, and the smile that reached her eyes was back on her face. ‘We should probably get back and make sure the place is still standing without you.’

‘Ha, as though it wouldn’t be better off with my lifetime ban.’ He stood up, collecting his jacket. There was a sense that he should feel worried- that hours spent not planning ways to fix the end of reality itself would cost him so dearly in the future. But instead, it was odd. He felt lighter. For a moment, it was like the fate of the world hadn’t been resting entirely on his shoulders. The swirl of the waves in his mind had calmed briefly, lapping rather than threatening him with the oncoming tide. He felt quiet, and grounded. 

Daisy stretched, the time spent hunched forward eagerly seeming to have finally taken its toll. ‘Come on then,’ she said, ‘lets get back to it.’  
Jon knew she was right. He had important work to be doing, not to mention that he needed to find something to read for tomorrow. The gnawing sensation was beginning to become slowly more apparent, as though he were hungry but not for any physical nourishment. 

‘Yes, lets.’ He began. 

‘I don’t suppose you’d mind if we took the long way though, do you?’


End file.
